Year of Honorary Fellowship, 2004
Dr Dick Vane-Wright is an entomologist and taxonomist associated with The Natural History Museum (London) for nearly 60 years. A specialist on butterflies, he retired from the Museum in 2004 as Keeper (Head) of the Department of Entomology. With over 250 journal publications, his books include Milkweed Butterflies (1984), The Biology of Butterflies (1984), and The Seymer Legacy (2005). He now divides his time between studies on the history of entomology, butterfly systematics, the theory of evolution, attitudes to nature and the conservation of biodiversity, and local entomological projects.
Current book projects include The Tasks of Taxonomy, and an illustrated popular account of butterfly biology. Research continues on the taxonomy of various groups of butterflies, notably members of the family Nymphalidae, and a faunistic account of the butterflies of Mt Kilimanjaro. Work on the virtually unknown 18th century watercolours of Jamaican insects made by Luke John Robins is also planned.
